Defense Lifts Tribe Past Jmu

Inspired W&m Surges To Victory

November 12, 1989|By CHARLIE DENN Staff Writer

WILLIAMSBURG — The name of the game Saturday, in case you missed it, was defense.

Playing like a unit inspired, thanks o senior defensive tackle Vince Edwards' fiery halftime oration, William and Mary's defense completely declawed James Madison's multi-Winged-T attack at Cary Field in the last half. There may have been better turnarounds by the Indians, but certainly not this year.

The 12th-ranked Indians' 24-21 victory over the Dukes Saturday was a study in contrasts. In the first half, JMU controlled the momentum and was moving the ball almost at will. But in the final 30 minutes, W&M smothered the Dukes' offense, holding them scoreless and virtually punchless.

"We had a team discussion at halftime," said Edwards. "Was it intense? Yes, it was intense. We had a good talk."

As a senior, Edwards has the option of voicing his feelings at halftime. There have been times this year when he hasn't felt moved to speak.

But Saturday, with the Tribe down 21-10 at halftime, he had much to say.

"Coach (Jimmye Laycock) always leaves some time at halftime for the captains and seniors to talk," said Edwards. "I just wanted to get some things out in the open. I yelled a little. I didn't want to leave anything unsaid. This was too big a game for that.

"The guys always accuse me of being too emotional. This time I was a little emotional and very vocal."

Perhaps Edwards' inspiration was the tonic the W&M defense needed. In the last half, the Indians, 7-2-1 and with only a date with 1-9 Richmond next week probably standing between them and a trip to the I-AA playoffs, held JMU to just two first downs and 75 yards of offense.

Redshirt freshman Eriq Williams, JMU's leading rusher who had caused havoc for defenses for the past four weeks, was not a factor at all. He gained just 12 net yards.

"We got after him," said Laycock. "We just tried to contain him by getting a lot of people to the football."

Bruising JMU backs Willie Lanier and Greg Medley, meanwhile, who combined for 105 yards in the first half, gained only 67 yards in the final half.

"We missed some tackles in the first half," said defensive end Alan Garlic. "We knew how to stop them, we just hadn't done the job.

"In the second half, we may have been helped by the fact that we knew we had been in this position before. We had to play well to get back in the game."

That's what the Indians did. Offensively sluggish in the first half, a turnover on JMU's second possession of the second half served to ignite the W&M attack.

The turnover, a fumble by Lanier, was called the turning point of the game by JMU Coach Joe Purzycki. Though the Indians did not score as a result of it, the turnover might have demoralized the Dukes' offense.

"We were ahead 21-10," said Purzycki, who saw his team drop out of the postseason playoff picture at 5-4-1, "and we were going in again. That would have made it 28-10 and that would have been a considerable bulge for them (W&M) to overcome.

"I'm not saying we ice the game if we score, but it puts us in a heck of a position. The air really came out of us on that one."

The Indians failed to capitalize on that error but did manage to put together a good drive late in the period. They started from their own 48 and got to the Madison 24, where they faced third-and-nine. Then Argo hit Mark Compher for an apparent touchdown pass.

But tight end Matt Shiffler was detected holding. Instead of a touchdown, the Tribe got the ball first-and-10 on the JMU 11, from where they could not punch it in.

So W&M settled for a Steve Christie field goal to draw the Tribe within 21-13. The Dukes were unable to move the ball and punted, but Palmer Scarritt returned the kick 35 yards to set the Tribe up on the Dukes' 26.

Again the Indians couldn't score a touchdown, but Christie booted another field goal to make it 21-16.

"The tide was turning," said W&M fullback Tyrone Shelton, W&M's top rusher with 87 yards on 26 carries. "You could feel it."

The tide started running entirely in W&M's direction when yet another JMU turnover (the Dukes had six fumbles and lost three), a Williams fumble, set the Tribe up on the Madison 38.

It took only six plays for the decisive touchdown, a 9-yard run by Robert Green. When Craig Argo hit Chris Hogarth on a two-point conversion pass, the Tribe led 24-21.

"Early, in the first half, I think we were coming out and playing not to lose,' said Green. "That's why we were tentative offensively. We were afraid to try anything.

`But in the last half, we just went out and played. We played to win. We won. It was that simple."

After the W&M touchdown, JMU got the ball back one last time. But the Dukes failed to get a first down and had to punt. With 6:36 to play, they were not to see the ball again.

That left some of the Indians in a mood to celebrate. So they doused Laycock with a water bucket after the game.

"Our kids were kind of excited," said Laycock, dripping wet.

Excitement and defense. Saturday, it made for a heck of a combination.